Chardonnay “Tupungato Vineyard” Uco Valley 2019 – Finca Flichman Dedicado

To produce the Chardonnay “Tupungato Vineyard” Uco Valley Finca Flichman Dedicado all grapes were hand harvested. After gentle crushing, the must was transferred to stainless steel tanks for fermentation, which took approximately 25 days. After malolactic fermentation, the wine spent 12 months on its lees in French oak barrels, then three months in bottle before release. The Dedicado wines are made from the best hand-harvested fruit from the high-altitude Tupungato vineyards. Tupugnato is the northernmost sub-region of the Uco Valley in Mendoza, and it sits at 1,300 metres above sea level. The grapes benefit from large diurnal temperature variations which result in a longer growing season. Pedro Parra, the renowned Chilean soil mapping expert, consults on these vineyards. Finca Flichman was founded in 1910 by Polish immigrant Don Sami Flichman. He purchased property in Barrancas (southern Maipú) and planted vines in rocky, well-drained plots situated along the Mendoza river. It was Sami’s son Isaac who first began to make fine wine at the estate, including Caballero de la Cepa, one of the first high-quality wines that garnered international awareness for premium Argentinian wines. Sogrape Vinhos purchased Finca Flichman in 1998, and invested heavily in restoring the vineyards and equipping the winery with modern equipment. The original Barrancas vineyard remains among their 400 hectares of vines, which also includes the higher altitude Tupungato vineyard. Today the wines are made by Rogelio Rabino, who works closely with consultant and renowned winemaker Alberto Antonini.